Obama and Notre Dame - Catholics and Others Misled by GOP on Abortion

[stevenleser]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-and-Notre-Dame--Cat-by-Steven-Leser-090517-64.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Steven Leser

I have several Catholic friends and family members and other family and friends who are anti-abortion or pro-life. Every time the issue of abortion comes up, either via a court case or special event or an election, some of them start saying the same things. "I'm supporting or am voting for the Republican candidates because of their position or abortion." I think it is time that those of you who keep saying this start thinking about what that support has gotten you so far.

For 20 of the last 28 years and 28 of the last 40 years, we have had a Republican in the White House. For at least a four-year stretch of the time when we had a Republican in the White House, Republicans controlled both houses of congress. Much of the last 40 years, Republicans controlled at least one house in congress. What have the Republicans done for those of you who want abortion made illegal besides pay you lip service and ask for your vote?

Lip service is the only thing the GOP has to offer on abortion. Republicans are the unchallenged royalty of creating wedge issues, manufacturing outrage and directing said outrage at their political opponents. Just look at the Tax Day Tea Parties. All of a sudden, after the massive deficits of the Reagan, Bush and Bush Jr. Years, Republicans are concerned about deficits. Here is a reality check for those of you who want to change the law on abortion. Republican politicians will never mount a serious effort to have abortion made illegal. They know that to do so would be political suicide. So those of you who want this need to ask yourselves a serious question. What is worse, someone who is up front and tells you they disagree with you, or someone who lies to you and says they agree with you and are going to do something about it, but consistently refuse to do anything after you vote for them?

Of course, for those of you who are opponents of abortion because you are Catholic or belong to another Christian denomination, I think you also have to wonder about a political party that claims to be for a culture of life and then has an obvious preference for resolving international disputes by going to war. The only good thing about this is the unintended comedy that results from Republican politicians and candidates trying to explain away this dichotomy. It's even better now that torture is in the equation. Consider this equivocal response from Gary Bauer http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i7tADnxuR79MJPcf7h0C8jxGSMGQD985E6L80 :

"There are a lot of things Jesus wouldn't do because he's the son of God," he said. "I can't imagine Jesus being a Marine or a policeman or a bank president, for that matter. The more appropriate question is, 'What is a follower of Jesus permitted to do?'"

Bauer said the answer is "it depends" — but the moral equation changes when the suspect is not a soldier captured on a battlefield but a terrorist who may have knowledge of an impending attack. He said he does not consider water-boarding — a form of interrogation that simulates drowning — to be torture.

"I think if we believe the person we have can give us information to stop thousands of Americans from being killed, it would be morally suspect to not use harsh tactics to get that information," Bauer said.
------------------------------------------------

Now, in my day, I have heard quite a few Christian sermons delivered by pastors of various denominations. I've never heard a Christian pastor try to explain away Jesus' behavior as something we needn't try to emulate because our job would make it too darn hard and by the way, that, plus the possibility it might save lives, means it's within the boundaries of Christian morals to torture.

Before anyone tries to tell me that Bauer is not a pastor, consider Bauer's membership in a leading capacity in the following Christian or Christian values organizations:

Christians United for Israel
Family Research Council
Campaign for Working Families (Founder)
American Values

Let's here what Ann Coulter had to say about abortion:

“No matter what other evils our citizens have voted for, we never voted for the slaughter of 40 million babies. Liberals call them fetuses. You never hear a pregnant mother say to her child, “Come listen to your little brother fetus, Johnny.” And women don’t have ‘fetus showers’."
----------

But about war in the Middle East, Ann had this to say:

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

------------------------------------------------
Again, I've been to many Christian sermons and that does not sound very culture of life or Christian to me. These quotes are only two of hundreds of GOP politicians who have voiced similar sentiments. I could post quotes by Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and countless others who claim to be for "life" but are for an aggressive and warlike foreign policy and yes, all of whom would do nothing about abortion if they were actually elected President.

So, to those students and staff at Notre Dame who are protesting against Obama with the implied suggestion that a Republican would be better concerning abortion, you need to spend some time thinking about this and doing some research. It's one thing to have strong values and beliefs and I respect you for that. It is another thing to have those values and beliefs used as a tool by a Republican Party and its candidates who lie about intending to do anything to further those values and only use them as a weapon against their political opposition. I think your beliefs deserve better than this and I don't think you really want them to be used in this manner.

[saltpoint]

1. War bombs, too often ours, fall on faraway houses inside which

babies are cared for by their parents.

As has been suggested many times on this site and elsewhere, the folks braying against Obama, Kerry, and others regarding reproductive freedom do not seem much bothered about the aforementioned babies in other countries who live in the path of our war machine.

It seems as if bombs falling on innocent people would provoke at least some response from the "pro-life" community.

But nope.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. Good Post

Making Abortion illegal would be like shoving a fork in their eyes and would pretty much destroy their future electoral viability for centuries- if they haven't already reached that point. They talk a good game about how bad/evil abortion is but, except for trying to impose more and more onerous restrictions on it- particularly at the state level, they know that if they actually made it illegal, all hell would break loose because they know (in spite of that BS "Pro-Life" Gallup poll being touted last week) that 3/4 of the country support a woman's right to choose abortion in all or most circumstances. You'll notice too that nobody has ever really pressed them on what things might look like "the day after" Roe V. Wade is overturned. For instance, who is going to get punished? The doctor or the woman having the abortion? What might the penalties be? I imagine that really pressing them on that might make them squirm because I don't think they have any answers to those questions. Maybe they haven't even thought that far ahead? :shrug:

[stevenleser]

3. Good point. What then?

Or perhaps the Republicans HAVE thought it through and that is why they are too smart to push the point once elected.

[Puzzler]

4. This should be required reading for any wingnut...

... not that it would likely do any good. But, it comes as close as anything I've read recently to frame this issue in a way a wingnut may find difficult to refute.

[Cha]

5. The derelict republicons use abortion

as a wedge issue only. They don't care about the sanctity of life if it messes with their ability to go to war and bomb innocent men, women, and children, and fetuses.

There is no higher hypocricy than being a republican.


bush had 8 years to strike down Roe VS Wade..little chicken shit.